Tears Must Fall
by OnnanokoKakashi
Summary: After two years of separation, Winry Rockbell never expected to see her friend again. His return reignites flames that have died down and uncovers emotions that she thought she had buried deep within herself. Rated M for fluffy lemon.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One__  
_

* * *

_Time does not bring relief; you all have lied_

_Who told me time would ease me of my pain!_

_I miss him in the weeping of the rain._

_I want him at the shrinking of the tide._

_The old snows melt from every mountainside,_

_And last year's leaves are smoke in every lane;_

_But last year's bitter loving must remain_

_Heaped on my heart, and my old thoughts abide!_

-Edna St. Vincent Millay

* * *

The rose-tinted hues of the late autumn sunrise cast a vibrant glow over the Resembool countryside. There was a house, almost hidden amongst the dry grass, that stood alone, its paint paled and chipped from over the years, giving it a lonely, forsaken quality. Through its downstairs windows, a young woman could be seen working at a table, lost in thoughts she only let herself think during her short hours of solitude.

It was easy enough not to dwell on the past during the busy hours of the day. These days, people were flooding through the doors to get their prosthetic limbs fitted and fixed by her capable hands. She had made quite a name for herself in the area, and during those busy hours, she scarcely had time to take a short lunch, let alone allow herself to slip into thought. But during the early hours of the morning and the late hours of the afternoon, when there was nothing left to distract her, she could feel herself dangerously tethering on the edge of thought. Thoughts about _him _of all things.

For two years he had been out of her life. She had two years to forget about him. _That idiot just left without so much as a goodbye. It was selfish and wrong. _So why did he continue to haunt her thoughts, reopening the wounds she thought had healed long ago?

Den let out a soft whine as she tightened a screw in his prosthetic front leg. _After all she had done, he had left without even a single thank you. _As usual. She was definitely over him.

She reached up and brushed her bangs out of her face, heaving a great sigh. Everything had a method to it, you just had to concentrate. If you thought about it hard enough, it would all make sense. That was the secret to her success. She looked harder at Den's auto-mail.

_He wouldn't come back this time._

She looked harder at Den's auto-mail.

_He was gone._

She looked even harder at Den's auto-mail, but all the lines were beginning to run together and soon she couldn't tell what was what. Everything was blurry and she could no longer distinguish between the parts. It was as though she was looking through water.

_He didn't even say goodbye. He didn't care enough to say goodbye. She was through with that bastard. He meant nothing to her._

_So then why was she crying?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

* * *

_Lying on his back, he could feel her gentle fingers playing along the side of his face, stroking and caressing wherever they touched. Her soft, lingering presence enveloped him in a feeling of security. He wanted those gentle hands to hold him, to keep him, forever. Slowly he opened his eyes, meeting her sapphire gaze. She was leaning directly above him, her long blonde hair blocking the view of the outside world. It was just them. He wanted to hold her, to keep her, forever._

With a violent start, Edward sat up in bed, rustling the sheets around him. The succubus had again come to visit, leaving her mark in his mind like ink on paper. He pressed the palms of his hands deep into his eyes, frustrated. How much more of this could he expect? Almost every night now she haunted his dreams, uncovering emotions he thought he could no longer feel. With a deep sigh, he turned on his side and tried to forget.

Someone knocked on the door.

"Room service!" they yelled from the other side.

"Unnnnnn…this early?" Edward moaned. The clock next to the bed read 8 o'clock. He had forgotten how tight those military bastards kept their schedule. "Come…in," he yawned loudly.

A tall man in uniform entered, carrying a tray filled with the hotel breakfast food. Yum. He dropped the tray off on the little table next to the bed, being sure to stay for longer than necessary until he got a tip. Annoyed, Ed began to eat. He ate at a surprisingly slow pace, mulling things over in his mind.

As of this morning, it had been two days since he had returned to his own world. Yet somehow, it hadn't quite sunk in yet that he was home. So much had happened so quickly that all he wanted to do was sleep and try to forget about it. But it wasn't so easy...it wasn't easy at all…

He got up and stretched, pushing those thoughts to the back of his mind. _Some other time he would think about it. But not now…not so soon…_

* * *

"_Don't be such a baby," she teased lightly, throwing her hair back from her face. She ejected the needle from his arm, laughing at the grimace on Ed's face. _

"_Oh c'mon, don't deny the fact that love your daily morphine shot. Junkie."_

"_Oh shut up, you just like to cause me pain. Masochist," Edward teased back. Her laugher filled the room. She loved to laugh, but only with him. To the rest of the world, she showed only a cold politeness._

_Edward sat back in his cot and tried to rest, but it was hard to sleep with the smell of disinfectant in the air. He hated hospitals._

"_How much more of these damn needles do I have to sit through before I can go?" She aimed a stethoscope in his general direction._

"_Don't cuss, the doctors hate it, and if you didn't want to end up here, you shouldn't have gotten shot to begin with."_

_He sat up quickly, grimacing in pain as he did so. "What the hell was I supposed to do? I'm not just gonna sit back and let those Nazi bastards take Noah…"_

"_I know…I know…" She crossed the room and sat on the edge of his bed, brushing her long brown hair to the side, the way she liked it. "Just leave it to me, I'll get her a ticket to the U.S.," she said assuredly. "I promise." _

_He reached out and took her hand. "Why are you so kind to me Winona?" he asked._

"_Because I love you," she replied, meeting his gaze with her sapphire eyes. The morphine was starting to kick in._

"_Sleep now," she told him, getting up to turn off the light. "Goodnight Edward."_

_He could feel the beginnings of a pleasant slumber dragging him seductively under. His eyelids closed and his voice became a whisper. _

"_Goodnight…Win…ry."_


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

* * *

"Your room key sir."

"Huh?" Edward shook his head absently, focusing on the small uniformed woman in front of him. She was waiting impatiently behind the checkout desk, her arm outstretched.

"I need your room key if you plan on leaving sir."

"Oh sorry, I have it here…somewhere…" He rummaged absentmindedly through his coat pockets for the little silver key. "Thanks," he said, passing it to her. "Sorry, I was just…just thinking."

She snorted impatiently, snatching the key from his hand and hanging it on one of the wall hooks. He turned and left the hotel, feeling slightly annoyed at himself for his slow behavior. _Stupid receptionists._

Edward wandered around the town for a long time, not exactly sure where he was going. Something inside him was telling him to return home, to Resembool, to visit his mother's grave… among other things…but he wasn't quite ready. Not just yet.

He looked around him at the town. Nothing had really changed. The people were still pretty much the same as they ever were. He approached a baker selling his wares on the side of the street and bought a loaf. Looking around for a place to sit, he settled on the edge of the fountain in the middle of the square and began to break the loaf into small pieces, flicking them on the ground for the birds. They ate ravenously while he watched them, his mind returning to his previous train of thought…

* * *

"_I think you should go," she said blankly, her eyes averted. She was shutting him out, along with the rest of the world. He reached for her hand across the kitchen table, but she jumped at his touch, as though he had burned her._

"_Winona…don't push me away…I've never known you to do that to me before."_

_She stood up suddenly, knocking the chair down as she did so. Slowly, she picked it up and set it back into its place, careful to avoid meeting his gaze. He looked at her for a long time. It was almost painful to watch a heart break._

_She walked slowly over to the window, keeping her back to him. He got up, unsure of what to do. Finally, taking a shaky breath, he crossed over to where she was, and reached out for her shoulder._

"_Don't." His hand paused in midair before dropping uselessly to his side. She continued to look out of the window. There was an awkward pause, in which neither one of them spoke, _

"_I…always kind of knew…" She swallowed loudly, pushing back the tears that wanted to fall. "I always kind of knew that you could never actually…could…love me…"_

"_Winona," he began, but she shook her head. He fell silent._

"_I've been talking to Alphonse, Edward. He tells me stories sometimes…stories about a world where I never existed...He tells me stories about a world where people look the same…and sometimes act the same, I guess. But they're not they're not the same people Edward." She turned and met his gaze, blinking hard to keep the tears at bay. "Who do I remind you of Ed?"_

_He broke from her gaze, a strong feeling of guilt beginning to rise. There was a pain starting somewhere in his chest that he didn't know how to cure. When he looked back up, there was something new and agonizing in her expression that was hard to watch._

"_I've pretended for a long time that you truly loved me, Edward."_

"_I do…" He said, but it sounded forced, even to him. _

"_Maybe you think…maybe you __pretend__ that you do…but you love her just little bit more, don't you?" She shook her head and the tears began to slide down her face. She dropped her gaze to the carpet, pretending they weren't there. _

"_I don't want to go on pretending with you Edward. It's like…every time you look at me…you're not looking at __me__. You're pretending that I'm somebody else. I don't want to be in that kind of relationship…I don't want to constantly wonder whether you're wishing me to be somebody else…" _

_The tears were freely falling down her face now. She pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes to stop the flow, but it was too late. She was sobbing and he didn't know what to do._

"_It seems," he began slowly. "It seems that everywhere I go, I cause pain to the people I care about the most. Why is that? Who knows? Maybe it's my punishment for trying to care to begin with. I'm sorry Winona. I'm really sorry."_

_He watched her as she tilted her face to the ceiling to force the tears back. "I wish…I could hate you," she said quietly. Slowly, painfully, she crossed to the door and picked up his coat._

"_You're not truly mine, Edward. You never were. Somewhere out there, she's waiting for you. You belong to her."_

"_You deserve to be happy Edward. We both do." She handed him his coat, her eyes averted. _

"_I love you Edward. Goodbye…because I love you."_

_He looked at her for a long time. Slowly, decisively, Ed reached for her hand, bringing it to his lips. Then, without saying a word, he took his coat from her arms and solemnly walked out the door._

_Goodbye…because I love you._

_He wished that he could feel the same way._

It was time to go home.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

* * *

The sun began to set in the Resembool countryside, casting a golden glow over the lonely yellow house. Inside, things were beginning to settle down as Winry ushered her last customer out of the workshop. 

She waved goodbye, breathing a long sigh of relief as she stood in the doorframe. _She really needed to hire an apprentice or something. _

"Alright Den, go ahead," she told the old dog. He limped outside, whining a bit. She would need to let him in soon or his arthritis would act up. In the meantime, she could rest for a while and enjoy a moment of time to clear her mind of the stresses of the day. Collapsing in her favorite chair, she laid back and allowed her mind to wander.

_Barking._

_That better not be another customer _she thought to herself, annoyed. It was always the same. Just as soon as she got comfy, someone would come knocking at the door. Sometimes she didn't even know why she bothered.

"Den, shut up!" she yelled as she opened the door. "It's alright, he's really…"

She froze mid-sentence. She felt as though she had been dipped in ice water.

_No._

Kneeling down in the middle of the path, stroking Den's head, was Edward. He looked up when he heard her voice, and she saw his golden eyes smile at her. He rose to his full height.

There was a pause in which neither of them spoke, staring at each other across the long expanse of the stairs.

"Hey Winry…it's been awhile…"

_Impossible._

He took a step toward her.

"No," she said, shaking her head, her eyes wide. "No. Not again."

She took a step backward. The very last thing she saw before she closed the door was his broken and confused face peering after her.

* * *

She leaned heavily against the door, her mind pumping furiously. 

_Not now. Not just when she thought she had healed._

Her breathing became faster. _Deeper breaths, Winry _she thought to herself. _Deeper breaths or you're gonna pass out. Just keep breathing. Nothing else matters. Don't cry. Don't let him see you cry._

_God, please don't cry._

_He only came back to make her feel vulnerable, just when she thought she was strong enough to move on._

"Dammit, stop crying!" she told herself firmly. She tilted her head back to ebb the flow.

The sound of his footsteps fell upon the outside stairs. He knocked tentatively on the front door.

"Winry? Are you alright in there?"

She couldn't speak to him, not just yet. On the other side of the door, she could hear him turn and lean against it, slumping down.

"Listen," he started again. "I'm sorry I scared you…I should've called first, I guess."

There was a pause.

"I guess I just wanted to see you…and the rest of the family of course!" he hastily added. He was mumbling now, and she could barely make out what he was saying. This was not at all like any of her fantasies. She took a deep breath as she rose to her feet.

_All right Winry be strong _she told herself as she turned towards the door.

He was still mumbling as the door opened, but it soon became a yell as he crashed to the floor in surprise.

"It opens inward," she told him blankly, looking down into his blushing face. Seeing him lying on his back like that with a bewildered look in his eyes made her feel a bit more confident than before.

"Welcome home, Edward." She turned and left him lying in the doorway as she walked into the kitchen to prepare the tea.

* * *

He was sitting at Winry's worktable when she came in from the kitchen with the tray of tea. She felt a pang in her chest seeing him there, sitting how he used to sit. He was looking at the pictures on her bulletin board with a softened expression on his face. She blushed as his eyes lingered over the center picture, the one of the two of them together when they were young. She hastily set the tray down, and took the chair across from him, eager to change the subject. 

An awkward silence hung in the air between them.

"So," began Ed. "How are you holding up here? Looks like business is booming…"

"Yes," she said slowly. "I have to work extra hard now, though, now that I'm on my own…"

She looked down at the table and could feel his gaze upon her.

"Are you….okay? I was really sorry to hear that she…that…Granny Pinako…"

"Died. Yes, I know," Winry finished abruptly. "But it's been a year now…I think I can handle it…"

The silence was almost unbearable.

"How's your auto-mail?" she asked, remembering the reason why he used to come to Resembool.

He stretched his arm across the table and let it lay there for her to examine. "You always did make the best Winry."

She examined his arm and answered without looking up at him. "Well, that's all I'm really good for; auto-mail I mean." The bitterness in her tone lingered in the air long after she had said it.

"Winr-"

"Where's Alphonse?" she interrupted, fully aware for the first time that Edward had come alone. He dropped his eyes to the table.

"He's been through a lot these past two years. He's taking a break from everything right now. He needs to be alone for a while. We've seen so many…terrible things." He shook his head, but his eyes retained a distant, haunted quality that spoke much louder and clearer than he ever could. He continued. "We managed to find that uranium bomb from long ago, that one I was telling you about. We destroyed it together, but it reopened the portal. We had more control this time…somehow…I think I could even go back now if I wanted to. But anyway, we said our goodbyes and here we are." He looked heavily at his hands, lost in a train of thought. "That damn thing can never be closed. Not by anything human, anyway. That's our job now, I guess. To make sure that no one crosses through the portal. I guess you could call us Guardians of the Gate…but it's a big name for those who can really only do so little. In the end, you can only muster strength enough to protect your own world. In the end, there's nothing you can really do for any of the others." Edward looked bitterly into his mug of tea.

He looked up at her, but his eyes remained distant, his thoughts far away. He had clearly suffered.

_But she would not be his tool._

"How long?" she interjected, setting her mug firmly down on the table. He came to abruptly, confused at the question. "How long are planning on staying this time, Edward? Two days? Three months? A year?"

"Winry," he began, puzzled.

"No. How many times do you plan on doing this to me Edward? How many times are you going to use me however the hell you please? " She rose up from the chair abruptly, knocking it over as she did so. "Am I just a tool to you? How many times are you going to walk into my life and then leave without saying a word?" Her voice was getting louder and louder. The words came freely. She could no longer control them. "How can you not even realize how selfish you're being?" She was screaming now and she could feel the tears begin to burn in her eyes. "Aren't you even human? Can't you see that every time you go away with the promise of never coming back that it breaks my heart? Can't you see that every time you return to me, I fall in love with you all over again?"

She was sobbing uncontrollably now. He rose abruptly from his chair. There was a look of anguish on his face as he took a step toward her.

"No!" she screamed, putting up her hand to stop him. "No. If you keep talking…and comforting…and being _nice_ to me, then you're gonna work your way back into my heart…and I don't want you anywhere near my heart."

He stared at her from across the long table. He seemed so far away. His golden gaze pierced into her mind as he stood watching her cry.

_Why did he always make her feel so damn exposed?_

With a final sob of anguish, Winry broke his gaze and ran up the stairs to her room, fleeing the man who had haunted her dreams for so long.

* * *

Tearing open the bedroom door, she threw herself onto the bed and sobbed into her pillow. 

_Why did he ever have to come back to her?_

Promptly, she heard his footsteps on the stairs. Straightening up, she wiped her eyes and tried to calm down. Decidedly, she sat on the edge of the bed with her back toward the door. She did _not_ want to face him right now.

His familiar knock sounded on the door.

"Winry? Can I come in?" He was speaking to her gently, as though afraid he would upset her if he raised his voice.

She took a deep, shaky breath. Without turning to look at him, she nodded.

He opened the door, flooding the room with light. After a pause, he closed it and walked over to the bed. Some things were better said in the dark.

He sat down on the other side, his back facing her.

"It's sure been a long time since I've been in this room…I remember…when we were kids, we used to have sleepovers here." He laughed softly. "Then we'd stay up until morning, just…talking. Later, we'd be so exhausted, we'd sleep all of the next day." He sighed deeply. "So much has changed since then, hasn't it? I guess we've both grown up...It doesn't seem fair though that I should've missed half of the time growing up with…with you." He swallowed loudly. "But things don't always work out the way you'd expect them to, do they? All the plans I had made for my life never really worked out properly…Sometimes I think Fate doesn't even give a damn about your own personal needs and wants…it just chooses your path for you…"

She snorted loudly, annoyed by his reminiscing. He continued.

"But then…just because you're stuck with your own fate doesn't mean that you have to tie it in with someone else's. I never wanted you to share my fate, Winry. If something had happened to you because of_me _I could never…never forgive myself…" He cleared his throat audibly. This was clearly hard for him to say. "But sometimes I needed to come back…sometimes…sometimes I just wanted to forget about the rest of it and just talk to someone who was away from it all. It was a nice break every time I was able to escape from reality and see your smiling face. Please…I just needed…I just needed to see you."

The dark shades of twilight began to show through the window. Outside, the first stars were appearing in the sky, small patches of brightness piercing through the dark. She took a deep, shuttering breath.

"When you first left, I thought you were never coming back, Edward. Before, you always came back to me. You might take awhile, but you always came back to me…but this time I thought it was going to be different." She could feel him turn towards her. She continued. "Every time you would come back, you and Alphonse would tell me stories about your adventures and I'd worry for a bit about what you'd been up to…and then I'd fix your auto-mail the best I could. I wanted to be of some help, if only just a little. But in the end, I'd always feel so…weak." Her voice cracked.

The bed creaked as he stood up.

"I guess I always knew why you left me behind, Edward. But I _hated_ seeing your back every time you left, knowing that there would never be anything left for me to do but wait, that I could do nothing_ nothing _to help you!" Her vision became a blur as she felt the hot sting of tears return to her eyes.

"Winry-" Edward began. But it was too late. She was scolding herself, punishing herself for her uselessness. Her voice became louder.

"I _hated_ you for leaving me, but I hated myself even more because I knew exactly why you did!"

"Winry!" he was yelling now too.

"And look at me now! After all you've been through, you're still so strong, but me? All I can I do is cry!"

"Stop it!" He was standing in front of her, his hands tightly clasped on her shoulders. She could not look up.

"I'm such an idiot, Edward! A useless idiot! I'm a fool for ever thinking I could ever be strong enough for you!"

"Shut up!" he yelled. In one swift movement, she was on her feet, tightly clasped against his chest. She fell heavily against him, leaning on him for support.

"All I ever do is weigh you do-"

Suddenly, his lips were upon hers, the feel of his mouth against her own. His hands clutched tightly to the back of her head, forcing her face up to his. He pressed her tightly against him until her sobs gradually died down into nothingness.

Held up to his chest that way, her insecurities gradually died down and left. She kissed him back. Slowly, he lifted her and set her gently on the bed, facing him. Then, with a hand grasping each of her knees, he knelt down in front of her and looked up into her face.

The moonlight shone through the window, shining on the tears that had already fallen. She felt so lost and confused. He began to quietly speak to her. His voice was soothing, washing over her in warm waves of comfort.

"Don't do that. Don't ever talk to yourself that way. Look at me Winry."

She kept her eyes averted.

He reached up and gently took her face in his hands, turning it toward him. Her eyes flicked to his golden gaze. He smiled and it felt as though something had gone through her heart.

"Without you, I wouldn't have an arm to use or a leg to stand on. You helped _make _me Winry. Your hands…"

He carefully reached out and placed his hand upon her own, his fingers lightly tracing hers. She felt a blush blossom across her face, but she didn't want him to stop. She expected him to blush too, or at most hold it for only a few moments longer. Instead, he slowly brought her arm to his lips and kissed the inside of her wrist, his warm breath a soft caress upon her skin. He continued to hold her hand long after he had lifted his head to gaze up at her face. He cleared his throat.

"Take as much time as you need." Then, without another word, he rose to his feet and turned to leave.

She grabbed his wrist.

"Please…don't go." She rose to her feet shakily, still clasping his wrist. He turned towards her, a perplexed look upon his face. Raising her other hand up to dry her eyes, she looked up into his and slowly began to advance towards him.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

* * *

She moved forward slowly, step by step, until they were only a few inches away from each other. Then, putting one hand on his chest, the other still grasping his wrist, she brought her face to his in a tentative kiss. He kissed her tenderly back. She pressed harder. He tasted her deeply, pressing his lips tightly against hers. 

_She could hear her own heartbeat._

Growing bolder, Winry moved her hands up to his neck, pulling him closer. She could feel his strong arms encircle her body. The mental barrier broke down as Edward eased his warm tongue into her mouth.

_She wanted to devour him from the inside out._

She thrust herself against him, pushing out all other thoughts of anything else except that fateful encounter. Her heart was racing and it felt like all the thoughts she had had and all the feelings she had felt these past years were pouring out of her, like water from a faucet. He gripped her tightly to him, his fingers pressing deep into her back. They tasted each other deeply, taking slow and steadying breaths. She was gradually becoming noticeably aware of the feeling of her breasts pushing deep against his body, hardening against him, and even more aware that this feeling of close proximity awakened an urge within her. She slid her hands deep into his waistcoat, coaxing it off of him. She kissed him harder.

He broke away, gasping for air. There was a haze to his eyes that she had never seen before. Every line in his face etched a terrible craving.

"Winry," he managed between pants, "Is it…okay? Is it okay for me to….want you…like this?"

She dropped her gaze to his chest and slowly leaned in to fasten her mouth onto his neck. He took deep, shuddering breaths to steady himself. The thirst within him was so great.

She broke from him and stood back, gazing into his eyes. Her hands moved up to her chest as she slowly unzipped her shirt, exposing the soft skin beneath. His eyes followed her every movement as she continued to undress, enjoying the attention that he was giving her.

She reached her hand behind her head and undid the clip, letting her long blonde hair fall gently against her back. He gave a sharp intake of breath. She could feel the chill night air against her warm, naked body. She felt his eyes upon her chest and her heart fluttered like a trapped butterfly.

"I've waited for this moment for all my life," he said hoarsely. She moved toward him slowly, savoring the look on his face as he watched her come closer.

Her hands tentatively moved to unbutton his shirt. She could feel his heated gaze upon her as she moved her fingers into his waistband to un-tuck his clothes, ignoring the blush that blossomed lightly across her face. His shirt fell heavily to the floor and she pulled back, unsure of what to do next, but eagerly awaiting his next move. He subsided to her supple, seductive entreaties.

He pulled her into him and she melted against him like butter, her knees buckling as her heart hammered in her chest. She desperately needed to pull away from this excitement, but her body was thirsty for his, the yearning in her heart far too great. There was nothing left to do but surrender to his desire. She shivered in pleasure as her nipples brushed against his bare chest. He cupped the back of her head in his hand, her blonde hair running like water between his fingers.

She grabbed his hands and placed them gently on her breasts, growing bolder by the second. She wanted his strong hands to make more contact with her willing body.

Edward's hands retreated to his belt, but she slapped them out of the way, replacing them with her own. With one outstretched arm, she gently pushed him to a sitting position on the bed. He braced himself for what was coming.

"Winry," he breathed softly. "What are you doing to me?"

His eyes pleaded with her. She could feel him shiver against her as she slid her hands down his body. Licking a long line down his abdomen, she slowly undid his belt, and pulled his knees apart.

The pants were coming faster and faster. His fingers knotted in her hair tightly as he looked up to the ceiling in erotic ecstasy. The stars were dancing in front of his eyes. She knelt on the floor with her head pressed against him, enjoying every sound, every groan that he uttered.

"Dammit, you're driving me crazy!" he moaned, pulling her off of his erection and throwing her on top of the bed. He kicked off the rest of his clothes impatiently and in one swift movement, he was there, above her, pulling the cool sheets over them both.

She gasped as she felt him slide his length into her. He looked at her through a haze, not wanting to cause her more pain. She shook her head, signaling for him to go on. She was broken, torn, but she didn't want him to stop. He was pushing himself deeper with every thrust, picking up the pace as he went. His hips ground against hers rhythmically as he shoved himself in to the hilt, losing his self-control. A high kneeing sound was emitting from her lips as she arched towards him, wanting more. Every muscle in her body was tightened. His breaths were coming shorter and shorter. The clanking of his auto-mail could be heard following his every movement and it felt as though it was just them, all alone. He was inside of her and nothing else mattered.

She moaned his name loudly with every thrust as they danced on the line between pleasure and pain. Her toes were pressed tightly against the bottoms of her feet as she neared the summit.

_They had craved this for so long._

"FUCK!" he yelled into the pillow as he reached the breaking point, gripping the sheets tightly. She felt him spasm against her, releasing his warm, wet contents, before she too whimpered in climax. _The walls broke down, crashing around them. _They rode the waves of the orgasm, breathing heavily as they slowly unwound.

He shuddered, easing himself out of her and collapsing against her body, his head pillowed between her breasts. She reached down and undid his hair.

There was a silence in which only their slow panting could be heard. Her fingers entwined themselves in his hair, stroking him gently.

"Winry?" he started.

"Yes?" she whispered softly.

"I…I love you," he blurted. She felt his face grow hot on top of her chest. Her own face blossomed in turn. She could feel her heart pounding in her throat.

_But it felt so good just to hear it out loud._

"I love you too…Edward…I think I have for a long time now…"

He gave a soft sigh, content with the knowledge that he was not alone…someone else shared his feelings…and his thoughts...

Her chest rose and fell heavily. She was almost sure he could hear her heart beat.

"Edward?" she started.

He gave an audible grunt. She spoke to him softly.

"Edward…you don't need to leave me behind anymore…I'm not scared of what could happen to me…I don't care if I die trying, but I…I don't want to let you go…"

He moved up to her level and turned on his side, pressing her tightly to his chest, the cool metal of his arm resting against her back.

"I'll follow you wherever you go…I promise," she whispered into him.

"Please Winry, just let me…hold you…for a bit."

She nodded, snuggling in close to him, surrounded by the safe, warm scent of his body.

_He could feel the beginnings of a pleasant slumber dragging him seductively under. _

"It doesn't really matter how far I travel anyway…Winry…you'll always be there…haunting my thoughts and my dreams…"

_His eyelids closed and his voice became a whisper. _

"Don't ever leave me Winry."

_Her soft, lingering presence enveloped him in a feeling of security. He wanted those gentle hands to hold him, to keep him, forever. _

The bright light of the moon shone onto his face, softly illuminating his features. She snuggled in comfortably amongst the pillows, safe within his arms. Gradually, she allowed herself to slip into the lapse of thought.

_Don't ever leave me Winry._

_I'll follow you wherever you go…I promise._

_As she lay there nestled amongst the pillows and the sheets, she wondered if perhaps she had always been in love with him…from a long time ago…_

She fell asleep to the sound of his quiet breathing; a soft, peaceful break in the stillness of the cool night air.


End file.
